Things are looking up

A few weeks ago, I went to see “Eat, Pray, Love” with my sister and a friend, in Tampa. I stopped by the restroom on the way in, and I left something expensive on top of the paper dispenser. I didn’t even realize what I’d done until the movie was over, two hours later. I was horrified, mad at myself and quite certain that the item was gone. I checked. It was, indeed, gone.

But guess what? More out of habit than optimism, I asked the customer service fellow if anyone had turned in this easily stolen, very expensive thing. And someone had.

I was shocked. Mouth-open shocked. Then, over the next few days, I began telling my friends about it, and to my surprise they all had stories that ended the same way. Once upon a time, something had been lost. Something valuable, easy to steal, easy to pawn. A cat, a set of car keys, a wallet or a cell phone. And then, some nice person, some simple, anonymous fellow creature, had turned it in, mailed it back, taken care of it until the owner could reclaim it.

It made me smile every time I heard a story like that. Because, though sometimes life feels pretty gloomy, we human beings actually aren’t all just out to snatch and run. We don’t all think it’s dog-eat-dog, every man for himself. Some of us still have empathy. We know what it’s like to lose something, to feel stupid and careless and sad. To have to spend precious, hard-earned dollars replacing it, or precious, hard-to-find minutes standing in the line at the DMV. And we want to spare our fellow sufferer the pain.

Today, I saw this posted on Facebook by a wonderful young woman I’ve made friends with there. Mrs. Optimism is a site that encourages people to leave “messages of inspiration, hope, courage and love” for others to find. It’s a wonderful idea, and it made me smile one more time.

Maybe we’re not so hopeless, as a species.

Maybe we’re kind of awesome.

So here’s my message of love to that amazing, ordinary lady who found my iPhone in the bathroom in Tampa, Fl.

YOU RULE.

Thank you so much for being kind-hearted and honest and all-round awesome. I hope someone does something just as nice for you someday soon .

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9 Responses

Decades ago, I had a similar experience at Disneyland in LA. I’d been juggling personal effects and strollers and came out of a ride realizing I’d left the Hubsters expensive camera in the stroller basket. Of course, it was gone. I stopped in at Lost and Found and someone had turned it in. I was amazed and gratified to know that some people are honest.

See? Everyone I talk to has a story like that. It’s actually quite amazing, and wonderful. Gives me hope. I bet it did a world of good for your marriage, when that camera turned up! Oops…just realized I never confessed about almost losing the iPhone to His Highness. Better go come clean now. 🙂

I’ve never lost anything and had it returned like this, but I did find a wad of cash in a restaurant restroom once. I started to bring it to the counter and had second thoughts as far as would the person behind the counter pocket it rather than return it to the rightful owner. I started searching my purse for an envelope or some way to conceal what it was. As I did, a woman ran past me into the restroom, obviously frantic. I followed her in and found her searching the stalls, nearly in tears. After asking what she lost and having my suspicions confirmed, I handed her the money, which turned out to be her entire week’s wages. I will never forget how good it felt to see the relief on her face. It’s a win-win endeavor.

Wynter, that’s a fantastic story! I can understand your reluctance to hand it over to a stranger. What a stroke of luck that you were on hand to see her searching! You’re so right…it’s definitely win-win, and hey, how many things can we say that about these days? Let the optimism roll on!

I think Mrs. Optimism came up with a *great* idea. I love it too because it is free, it requires nothing but a post-it and the time it takes to write a quick note.

I was checking out the news on CNN the other day and I discovered Secret Agent L. SA L, for an entire year, was anonymously leaving gifts all around Pittsburgh. She had a reveal party in July because she wanted to do more through her blog. She has affiliated agents around the world. I thought that her idea was brilliant but her idea involves gifts that are $5 or less. Not too expensive but that can be a turn-off for people. http://www.secretagentl.com/p/about.html

I live in San Francisco and I moved her from a smaller town (population 130k). I was lectured about not making eye contact with people, cautioned against talking to random people on the bus, etc. But those warnings, while understandable, made me sad. Now, when I see a woman with really cute shoes or rocking a great dress or a guy with a funny shirt, I stop and tell her/him. It *always* makes them smile and I’ve never had a bad reaction.

Kristin, I’m so glad I saw your FB post about Mrs. Optimism. What a lovely, lovely idea! Secret Agent L sounds very cool, too. Obviously there are some weeks when even $5 dollars is $5 dollars we can’t afford, but there are other weeks when the budget surely could stretch that far! I’m going to try that, too.

And I’m all for your open ways. If there’s a pure thing in this world, it’s being nice to people. You’d have to play a seriously devious philosophical game to find a way that a smile or a compliment could actually hurt a single soul. You’re fantastic.

Thank you for your post, Kathleen. Events like the one you described sustain my faith in mankind, and help keep me going.

Has anything comparable ever happened to me? Yes, but I didn’t lose something. I got lost!

When I was twelve—never mind what year it was—my parents, my brother Kurt (then ten), and I were living in a suburb of The Hague, The Netherlands. That was where my father, a pipeline construction engineer, was working on a major project.

My mother, brother, and I went to Geneva, Switzerland for a vacation of a week or so. We returned by train; it was called the Rheingold Express.

Sometime in the night, while the train was running through the Rhineland, Kurt and I decided we wanted a midnight snack. We went looking for the kitchen; the dining car would have been closed. Mom must have been asleep.

We went way back in the train and didn’t find the kitchen. But the train slowed and some of the cars were uncoupled and coupled to a different train.

Kurt and I didn’t find out what was going on until too late. Once the car we were in got moving again, Mom was headed for The Hague and Kurt and I were headed for somewhere in the heart of West Germany.

Of course, we couldn’t speak German, and my French was terrible. But somehow we found a conductor who spoke a little English. He realized what had happened to these two American kids. He must have contacted some higher-ups; don’t ask me how. This was long before cell phones.

I don’t know how Kurt felt, but I was pretty worried. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before.

My mother, I later learned, was fighting panic. There was no way for her to know just where we were or what was happening to us.

But Kurt and I were well-treated by the railroad employees, even if the language barrier was never fully breached. I figured everything would work out, so I stopped worrying. My brother and I even got something to eat, so I suppose we fulfilled our original mission.

We were put on another train, this one headed in the right direction. Of course Kurt and I had no money or passports, but we crossed the border anyhow.

Eventually we were reunited with Mom. I got a good laugh out of the whole Rheingold Express incident. But it wasn’t funny at all for her!

Mary Anne, “The Rheingold Express Incident” is the most amazing story! I can’t imagine how your mother kept from falling completely apart! You must have been a very adventurous and curious little girl, or else you would remember it very differently! What a terrific memory of how human compassion knows no borders!